TECHNOLOGY

A HOMOGENEOUS
ENVIRONMENT
FOR
PRECISION
HEAT
TREATMENT

FLUIDIZED
BED
FURNACES

PRINCIPLE

Fluidized bed furnaces employ an alloy retort filled with sand-like alumina particles. When a controlled stream
of air or gas is passed upward through a distributor below the retort, the particles float on a cushion of the air /
gas stream and move around turbulently without elutriation. The now fluidized bed looks and behaves
remarkably like a boiling liquid bath. When heated (externally or internally) and when the fluidizing gas
mixture is also the required heat treatment atmosphere (neutral or reactive), the fluidized bed becomes an
excellent heat treatment furnace for components that are immersed into it.

PROPERTIES

RAPID & UNIFORM HEAT TRANSFER

Higher heat transfer rate and

shorter soak time in fluidized bed
furnaces compared to batch
atmosphere and vacuum furnaces.

Non uniform heat up rate between

components in the basket edges and in the
center, in convection assisted radiation
batch furnaces.

TEMPERATURE UNIFORMITY
Due to turbulent particle movement

FLEXIBILITY

Any temperature (Ambient to 1200oC)

+ Any heat treatment atmosphere
= ALL HEAT TREATMENT
PROCESSES IN ONE FURNACE
RAPID ATMOSPHERE EXCHANGE.
QUICK STARTUP AND SHUT DOWN.

Simultaneous conductive contact of hot

alumina on all surfaces of all immersed
components ensures more rapid and uniform
heat up rates in fluidized bed furnaces.

CLEAN, SAFE & NON POLLUTING

No toxic effluents, health or explosion hazards

HARDENING & TEMPERING

OF COMPONENTS &
TOOLING
LOW DISTORTION DUE TO
UNIFORM HEAT
TRANSFER

SUPERIOR TO VACUUM HARDENING!

A rational examination reveals that other than for very few applications that require an extremely high
degree of surface brightness (eg plastic injection moulds) where no subsequent polishing / grinding is
performed, the fluidized bed furnace (which also provides a high quality surface) has the following
advantages over vacuum furnaces.

SUPERIOR HARDENED STRUCTURE

DUE TO IMMERSION QUENCHING /
MARQUENCHING IN CHOICE OF
SEVERAL QUENCHANTS.
BETTER CONTROL OVER ALLOY
PARTITIONING.
WIDER VARIETY OF STEELS CAN BE
PROCESSED.

SURFACE TREATMENTS IN THE SAME

FURNACE.
EQUAL OR LOWER LEVEL OF
DISTORTION.
MUCH LOWER CAPITAL COST.
MUCH LOWER MAINTENANCE COST.
MORE UNIFORM TEMPERING.

HIGH QUALITY SURFACE

FINISH

CONSISTENT HARDNESS

SHORT CYCLE TIME, HIGH

PRODUCTIVITY

In several instances these outweigh the advantages of vacuum furnaces some of which are:
Cleaner (than the already clean fluidized bed) environment * Less product handling * Lower
gas consumption * No post cleaning * Less floor space.

CARBURIZING AND CARBONITRIDING*

HIGHER RATE OF CARBON PENETRATION.

CLASSIC BOOST / DIFFUSE CARBURIZING.
SHORTER CYCLE TIME.
CONSISTENT HARDNESS & CASE DEPTH.
HIGH TEMPERATURE CARBURIZING UP TO 1020oC.
PRECISE CONTROL OVER SHALLOW CASE DEPTH.
ABSENCE OF SUB-SURFACE OXIDATION.
IMPROVED FATIGUE STRENGTH.
GOOD CASE UNIFORMITY IN HOLES & CREVICES.
PRECISE CONTROL OVER HARDNESS PROFILE.

Ck 15. Carburized @ 920oC, 35 mins. 0.35 mm ECD.

CARBURIZING AND CARBONITRIDING*

SHALLOW CASE NITROCARBURIZING AS IN

PROPRIETARY SALT BATH PROCESSES.
ALSO DEEP CASE NITROCARBURIZING WITHOUT
SURFACE CHEMICAL ATTACK AS IN SALT BATHS.
CLEAN & NON TOXIC PROCESS.
DEEP CASE NITRIDING, SHORTER CYCLE TIME.
VARIABLE GAS MIXTURES FOR CONTROL OVER THE
NITRIDING POTENTIAL.
PROCESSING FROM 450oC TO 700oC.
NIL TO FULL SURFACE POROSITY CONTROL.
MID CYCLE STEAM INJECTION FOR ADHERENT OXIDE
LAYER FOR CORROSION RESISTANCE.
OXYNITRIDING CAPABILITY.
COMPONENTS ARE TAKEN OUT AFTER NITRIDING OR
NITROCARBURIZING IS OVER. NO LONG COOLING
CYCLE AS IN SEALED RETORT FURNACES.
FOR NITRIDING STEELS, OTHER ALLOY STEELS, LOW
CARBON STEELS, TOOL STEELS, STAINLESS STEELS,
IRONS & SINTERED PARTS.

Ck 45. Austenitic Nitrocarburized @ 650oC. Dense

compound zone backed by an austenite layer and nitrogen
diffusion zone.

Ck 40. Austenitic Nitrocarburized @ 700oC and aged @

350oC. Porous compound zone, backed by a Iron-Nitrogen
bainite layer (Austenite Conversion).

BATCH FURNACES,
FEATURES & OPTIONS

RUGGED CONSTRUCTION.
DISTRIBUTOR PLATE FOR OPTIMIZED FLUIDIZATION.
FREE EXPANSION ALLOY RETORT.
LOW GAS CONSUMPTION.
AUTO FLUIDIZATION CONTROL.
AUTO PROCESS CONTROL.
ELECTRICALLY HEATED OR GAS FIRED FURNACES.
SiC OR METAL HEATERS.
THYRISTOR HEATING CONTROL.
RECUPERATIVE BURNERS.
SEVERAL SAFETY INTERLOCKS. FULL RANGE OF
AUXILIARY EQUIPMENTFIXTURING, WASHING
MACHINES, GRIT BLASTERS, QUENCH BATHS,
VIBRATORY SIEVES etc.

CONTINUOUS (LINKED BATCH) PLANTS

One or more batch furnaces can be linked with one or more quench tanks, washing machines and tempering furnaces by a
traveling (sealed quench) pick and place hood to / from the FLEXCELL linked batch heat treatment plant.
The configuration can be designed for general heat treatment, continuous carburizing, isothermal annealing and hardening
and tempering of components and tooling. The advantage of such a plant is in its ability to operate as a continuous
furnace or as individual batch furnaces depending on the load quantity and heat treatment specifications. Production does
not stop when one individual furnace is under maintenance. While quenching, the hood is purged with nitrogen as a
protective atmosphere for the hot change.

Partial view of a FLEXCELL comprising three hardening furnaces, two tempering furnaces, two quench tanks and one wash machine.

ADVANTAGES
QUALITY. Consistent hardness and case depth due
to the high degree of temperature uniformity.
PRODUCTIVITY. Rapid and uniform heat transfer
rates, shorter process cycles and increased throughput.
Significant reduction in the cycle time of diffusion
processes as well. Small furnaces can output a
disproportionately high tonnage.
FLEXIBILITY.
One furnace can be used
continuously for a single component and process or
for a variety of components and processes with
several process changes in a single day. The ability to
operate at any temperature and with a wide variety of
gas mixtures allows process fine tuning for different
components and custom designing of processes for
specific applications.
EASY MAINTENANCE. The plant construction is
simple without any hot moving parts. No special
skills or tooling are required and maintenance can be
done in-house.
LOW OPERATING COSTS. Shorter cycles ensure
lower heat losses.
Consumes gas only when
components are being processed. Rapid (2 minutes
typ.) atmosphere change allows use of air between
batches. The alumina retains heat when the furnace is
switched off.

LOW CAPITAL COST. Lowest cost equipment

compared to other furnaces of similar capacity and
quality of output, including salt baths (with effluent
plants and safety infrastructure added).
SAFETY. Fluidized bed furnaces are inherently safe
to operate being an open system unlike sealed quench
and other atmosphere furnaces. Gas mixtures unsafe
at low temperatures in these furnaces present no
problem in fluidized beds. Examples are air and
ammonia for oxynitriding or air, hydrocarbon and
ammonia for nitrocarburizing. Unlike in salt baths,
immersion of oily and wet components in a fluidized
bed will not cause an explosion and pre-cleaning is
not generally required except for certain surface
treatment.
NO GAS GENERATORS. The fluidized alumina
particles present a large surface area for thermochemical decomposition and gas mixtures crack to
completion within a short distance of entry into the
bed. Separate gas generators for endogas and exogas
with attendant capital and maintenance costs are
hence not necessary.

WELCOME TO DIMEX INDUSTRIEOFENBAU

AT DIMEX WE DONT STOP SHORT AT SUPPLYING STATE OF THE ART FURNACES AND
ACCESSORIES WITH AN INDUSTRY STANDARD WARRANTY. WE ALSO PROVIDE TOTAL
SOLUTIONS AND PROCESS GUARANTEES. WE OPERATE A VERSATILE HEAT TREATMENT
PROCESS PROTOTYPING LABORATORY WHERE METALLURGISTS UNDERTAKE CLIENT
SUPPORT ACTIVITIES LIKE SAMPLE PROCESSING FOR CHOICE OF PROCESS & PLANT,
OPTIMIZATION OF PROCESS PARAMETERS, TESTING CLIENT SUPPLIED PARTS, CUSTOM
PROCESS DESIGNING, FAILURE ANALYSIS AND GENERALLY HELPING CLIENTS WITH THEIR
HEAT TREATMENT NEEDS BEFORE AND LONG AFTER A SALE.

G.E. Totten and Associates, LLC

P.O. Box 30108
Seattle, WA 98103
United States of America

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